The Unknown Twin and The Philosopher's Stone
by pottersonthetardis
Summary: Wrong BWL. When Dumbledore chooses Benjamin Potter as the Boy Who Lived what happens to the younger Potter twin, Harry? On his sixth Christmas Harry leaves the Potter household. Watch over Harry as he survives his first year at Hogwarts with his friend Hermione, his git of a twin Benjamin, his godfather Severus, and a Headmaster that doesn't know the first thing about him.
1. The Night That Changed it All

**AN: Hi guys. This is my first fanfiction that I have put on the internet, but it is NOT my first fanfiction. I love reviews and constructive critcism, but please no flamers. Please enjoy the fanfiction and I will post more!**

**Disclaimer: I have NO own of Harry Potter what so ever. I only own my OC Benjamin Potter.**

Pregnant Lily Potter was in St. Mungo's Hospital on July 31st 1980. She was about to give birth to two twin boys. It was 11:57 pm when the first cry was heard in the room in which Lily Potter was in. Her first child looked like a boy version of herself however with James's eyes. Her second son was born 2 minutes after that at 11:59 pm. The second boy was the opposite of the first. He was an exact copy of James however he had her emerald coloured eyes. A nurse cleaned them up and placed them in her arms.

"So what will their names be?" the nurse asked Lily.

"This one will be named Benjamin James Potter." Lily told the nurse pointing to her eldest son. "This one will be named Harry Severus Potter." and she pointed to her youngest. Lily knew that if James was present he would not have approved of Harry's middle name. There was some unfinished enmity between James Potter and Severus Snape. However, Lily felt as if she should honour her first friend.

The next morning Lily Potter walked out of her hospital room and handed Benjamin to her husband. She told James the names of their two sons and as she predicted he did not approve of Harry's middle name. He practically growled when she told him. She ignored him and asked the man next to James, "Sirius will you be Benjamin's godfather? Remus will you be Harry's?"

"Of course!" Sirius answered like an excited puppy.

"It would be my pleasure." Remus responded happily.

Lily separated Remus from the others and told him, "Remus I hope it would be okay with you if I also ask Severus to be Harry's godfather." There was no crestfallen or downcast look on Remus's face, instead there was a look of understanding.

"Of course it's okay Lily. Severus deserves to be Harry's godfather as much as I do." Remus told her putting her hand on her shoulder. "Just do what you think is right. James will understand." Remus hugged her and then they walked by to James and Sirius. The four of them walked out of St. Mungo's, Sirius holding Benjamin and Remus holding Harry while James had his arm wrapped protectively around Lily. They apparated to Potter Manor and started to decorate the nursery. Lily used the Levitation Charm to levitate paintbrushes and painted the walls of the nursery soft baby blue. James, as he was skilled at Transfiguration, was transfiguring objects into a crib, stuffed animals, a bookshelf and children's toys. Sirius and Remus helped out when needed, but they mainly took care of the twins. Eventually the nursery was finished and Sirius and Remus returned to Black Manor. James and Lily placed the sleeping children in their new crib and they went to eat lunch.

For the next 15 months everything was normal besides the fact that they were in hiding from Lord Voldemort. Little did they know that there would be one day that their whole life would change. However for better or for worse was unknown.

It was October 31st 1981, Halloween night. The Dark Lord, Voldemort, was walking down a street in Godric's Hollow during the dead of the night. 'Of course.' the Dark Lord scoffed. 'They have to live where that infernal Gryffindor did.' Of course being Halloween nobody thought his pale white skin, snake-like face, and ruby eyes were real. They believed it was just a decoration. Someone even told him he had a "cool costume." Stupid Muggles.

He had decided to kill off the three potential boys of the so called prophecy predicting his downfall. He knew that the prophecy wasn't true because after all he is the Dark Lord, but still, one cannot be too cautious of a prophecy. The prophecy predicted a boy who was born as the seventh month dies would over through him which could only be Neville Longbottom, Alice and Frank Longbottom's brat, and Benjamin Potter or Harry Potter, Lily and James Potter's _precious_ twins. He made his way to Potter Manor, stepping through the threshold with a hungry glint in his gleaming red eyes. He looked around the main floor and cursed. 'Stupid Wormtail!' he thought angrily. 'He told me that the Potters would be here tonight. Might as well kill that babysitter instead.' "AVADA KEDAVRA!" was shouted and the twenty-something year old girl dropped dead on the floor.

He strutted into the nursery twirling his wand with his fingers deciding if he should torture the boys then kill them or just kill them. In the end he decided to kill them swiftly so he could leave and bask in his glory. The dark wizard looked at the crib positioned in front of the baby blue walls and laughed maliciously. 'This is going to be fun.' he thought. He saw the twins in the crib immediately. One had red hair and hazel eyes. That was Benjamin, who was bawling his little lungs out. The other one though had black hair and green saucer shaped eyes staring up at him. He didn't look or seem sad, just curious and filled with anger. He stepped in front of his older brother as if to protect him. Voldemort laughed and told him, "That's not going to help. You're just going to die first, little Harry." He pointed his wand and yelled "AVADA KEDAVRA!" once more. However this time was different. Young Harry Potter had achieved what all other wizards failed at. He had somehow reflected the Unforgivable Curse and hurled it straight back at Voldemort, killing the Dark Lord once and for all, or so it seemed. Although, little Harry did not leave unscathed. Upon his forehead was a thin lightning shaped scar and his magical core was drained causing him to faint. Benjamin did not go unscathed either. However the S-shaped scar that lay upon his hand was a cause of falling debris from the ceiling.

Half an hour later, James and Lily Potter arrived back at Potter Manor to find the babysitter dead and the nursery in ruins. They rushed into the room and saw Benjamin crying while Harry was lying in the crib barely moving. They first went to Harry, but in seeing that he was fine they went to look at Benjamin. Upon Benjamin's hand they saw the S-shaped scar on his hand and believed it to be a result of Lord Voldemort's killing curse. However, the Potters could not be sure, and they were not sure until Albus Dumbledore flooed into their house. The old man examined both twins and proclaimed Benjamin Potter, the 15-month old baby boy, to be the Boy-Who-Lived once he saw the bloody cut upon his hand. The boy who had supposedly rid the world of Lord Voldemort forever.

If Dumbledore had bothered to look closely enough, he would have noticed that young Harry also had a scar. Also, if he had used his magic – he was a wizard after all - he would have realized that Harry's scar, unlike Benjamin's, was radiating Dark Magic. He would have also realized that Harry's magical core was drained while Benjamin's was nearly full. However, Albus Dumbledore had not noticed that. He, the most powerful wizard, the Leader of the Light Side, the Grand Sorcerer, the Supreme Mugwump, the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, had not noticed that he had chosen the wrong child to be the savior of the Wizarding World. Of course, many people make mistakes, it's just part of human nature. Or in this case wizard nature. Though nobody has made this big of a mistake. How would the Wizarding World survive if all of their faith was put into the wrong person? How would the other Potter child fare while his brother basked in the spotlight? The Wizarding World would eventually find out. All because he, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, had made his first mistake.


	2. An Unhappy Birthday and an Unhappy X-mas

**AN: I decided to post this chapter as well. I'm currently writing chapter 6. Beware the little cliffhanger at the end of the chapter. So I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Read and review! **

**Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter I would be drinking Strawberry Daiquiris at my summer home. Alas I am not. **

Six year old Harry Potter was inside of the smallest bedroom in Potter Manor, his ear pressed against the closed door, listening to the people in the living room clapping and laughing for his brother's birthday. The Boy-Who-Lived was turning six today and apparently it was the most important occasion on earth. Harry sighed and turned around to sit on his bed. He was used to this. All of this. The parties, the love, the acknowledgement of his brother but not him. His parents slowly started to ignore him after his brother was named the Boy-Who-Lived and he was Harry… just Harry.

_Flashback_

_Harry Potter was three years old hiding behind a corner of the kitchen wall just a day after his birthday. His parents forgot. Again. He got three presents this year. One more than last year. One from Severus, one from Sirius, and one from Remus. Remus had enough money to get both him and Benjamin a present this time. Of course, Harry was grateful that some people remembered that he existed. He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard his brother giggle with glee._

_"You did not get your three year old son a broom?!" Lily exclaimed with fake anger. She sounded as if she was holding back a laugh._

_"It only goes a meter off of the ground Lily." James told her, ruffling his son's hair._

_"You better not break anything." Lily warned her son tapping his nose._

_"I won't mommy, I promise!" Benjamin squealed._

_Harry slowly backed away from the heart-wrenching scene. They seemed to be the perfect family, and he was just an outsider. He accidentally knocked over one of his mom's favourite vases as he was turning around. His emerald green eyes widened and just as the vase was about to smash into a thousand little pieces it hovered above the ground. Harry wasn't surprised. He was used to magic. He had done a lot of accidental magic and both his godfathers thought that he had a lot of potential. He quickly placed the vase back on the marble pedestal and ran back to his room. He closed the door and slid down the wall bursting into tears. He crawled his way over to his bed and wriggled his way in between his mattress and his light green bed sheets. That was the first night he cried himself to sleep._

_End Flashback_

Harry sat on his bed and took out his new Potions book that Severus had gotten for him, adding improvements where needed like Sev had shown him. The book was something that he was sure that his mother would not approve of. It was a good thing that his mother never bothered to even talk to him. He didn't even know if he should call her mum any longer. Mum was a title that was to be earned, and he didn't quite believe that Lily Potter had earned it.

However, he was different from other six year olds. Sure he craved his parents attention, but for different reasons. He would injure himself just to alert his parents that there was another human being in the house. However when they did hear him, which surprisingly was more often than not, they told him to be quiet because the noise would bother Benjamin. After the fourth time Harry had tried to get their attention, James was getting tired of it. He grabbed Harry's arm, it had left a bruise, and locked him in his room. He would have went down for dinner but no one came up to tell him that it was time to eat. That was the time the little boy spent 36 hours in his bedroom until James stumbled upon the door by accident and unlocked it, only to find a hungry child sitting on a bed, reading.

His reading was disturbed and he jolted back into reality when his bedroom door was opened and two redheaded boys were suddenly standing in his room.

"Hey Fred who'd ya think that is?" twin number one asked.

"No idea George, why don't we ask him?" twin number two, Fred, responded looking at the raven haired boy with curiosity.

"Hey kid I'm George Weasley and that devilishly handsome but not as handsome as me boy over there is my brother Fred. Who are you?"

"I'm Harry Potter." Harry mumbled turning his head away from the Weasley twins.

"Sorry we didn't…" Fred started.

"…catch that." George finished for his twin.

"My name is Harry Potter." Harry said louder, glaring at both the boys in the eyes as if daring them to challenge him and tell him that he was wrong.

"Wow we didn't know…" one of the twins said.

"…that Benjamin Potter had a brother." the second one finished. They kept on finishing each other's sentences and to be honest it was giving Harry a migraine. All he wanted to do was read his new book in peace.

"I'm not just his brother. I'm his twin." Harry whispered looking downcast. "I don't like to consider myself to be his brother though. He hasn't done anything to me that would even count as affection or that he was even related to me. He doesn't even acknowledge me."

Both twins turned to each other and smirked. "Well if you're his twin than HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" the boys shouted happily embracing him in a hug. "Why are you in here if there's cake down there?"

"I'm not a big fan of cake."

"That's not true everyone loves cake!"

"I don't really want to talk about why I'm here if that's ok."

"Sure sure…" Fred and George huddled together and whispered about something. They grinned and turned back to him. "We were going to give this to Ben but we think that you should have it instead. He _was_ being a twat." Then they handed him a wrapped parcel.

Harry was shocked he didn't know what to say. There, in his room, were two people who he didn't know, but were acting more like family than his had ever treated him. He couldn't stop stuttering his thanks. The twins were extremely nonchalant and told him to "just open it already." So he did. Inside of the box was a book with practical joke ideas. Harry smiled while Fred and George grinned back at him, and Harry believed that he just made his first friends.

A few months later it was Christmas Eve night and the Potter parents had a special day planned for tomorrow. Early Christmas morning the elder Potters tiptoed to their little boy's room and while their boy was sleeping they Apparated to the special Christmas Quidditch match. Unknown to Harry that he was the only one in the Potter household he slept on. Nobody had remembered him.

Later that morning Harry awoke rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He groggily walked down the stairs to the kitchen to make himself some breakfast. He knew that Sirius and Remus would be around later, but Severus got in an argument with James, so he was no longer welcome at Potter Manor. He made himself some pancakes and summoned the syrup and butter along with the cutlery. He was getting fairly good at magic. He had covered up to third year material along with some random spells here and there. His godfathers would be proud.

Once he was done eating his breakfast he quietly made his way to James's and Lily's room to see if they were up yet. He opened their door being prepared to run in case they were in a bad mood. The door creaked as it opened and he peered in. The cream coloured walls were clean and sunlight was pouring in through the window. The bed was neatly made and there was no sign of life. Since there was nobody in their room he ran to his brother's. Unsurprisingly there was no one there either. He checked every room in the house. Twice. The living room, the library, the washrooms, the guest bedrooms, everywhere. Harry came to a conclusion quite quickly. They had abandoned him. On Christmas. He bit his lip so hard that he could taste the metallic tang of blood in his mouth. He was furious… and sad… and a little scared. If they did this to him now, what would they do when he was older? Would he just be so inconvenient that he would become a fly on the wall? An outsider in his own family? Family… That's not right. The Potters were not his family. They didn't deserve to be considered his family. They did nothing kind to him, nothing to show that they cared about him, nothing to show that he was loved. So he let the dam behind his walls break, and tears flooded from his soft emerald green eyes. Tears of anger and sorrow were shed by the little boy who felt unloved by all but his two godfathers. Even then he rarely saw them. He eventually regained his composure and made the decision that changed his life for the better.

That Christmas, Harry Potter decided to leave Potter manor. He did not consider himself to be a Potter any longer. He confronted the house-elves, the creatures who showed him kindness, to allow him to slip past the wards, and they did. He escaped the place that he lived in for more than five years, but that he never considered his home. He ran and ran with a bag full of shrunken books, spell journals, and clothes in his arms. He fled to Diagon Alley in search of a start to a new beginning.


	3. The Heritage of Harry -No Longer- Potter

**AN: Hey guys. Happy New Year! And a new year means a new chapter! But I'm not going to post another chapter until I get some reviews. I need to know if you guys like the story and how I can improve, or if you want something to be incorporated into it. It is going to be Harry/Hermione and there is no changing that. Neville will gradually become more important and I'm thinking about pairing him with Luna if I do the other years. That's all for now! Enjoy! Read and Review!**

Harry stepped into the busy pub known by the name of The Leaky Cauldron. He walked up to the bar and stood on his tiptoes to stare at the bartender, Tom, in the face. Tom seemed to be surprised to see a young boy, with no parents to be seen, in his pub. And on Christmas no less. "Hi!" Harry said in a squeaky voice. "Do you know how I could get to Diagon Alley?"

Tom looked at the boy with pity and affection written all over his face. "All you have to do is walk out that door," Tom told the curious child, pointing towards the door he spoke of, "And tap the centre brick five times."

"Thank you!" Harry waved before walking towards the door, behind which he would enter Diagon Alley.

His first stop was Gringotts, the wizarding bank. He had read up on goblin culture and Gobbledegok, the language of the goblins, earlier that year and was prepared for his encounter with those beings. The architecture of the building was astounding. The polished marble gleamed white in the bright sunlight. He walked into the bank and was immediately greeted by a goblin running bank accounts. The goblin by the name of Gurgok asked him about his vault and he replied, "M-my family dis-disowned m-me…" his teeth chattered from the cold. "I w-was let p-past th-the wards. C-could I please sp-speak to someone about other v-vaults that I am able t-to open, Gurgok-nür?"

The goblin, shocked at the young child's manners, allowed the child to speak to not just _a_ goblin, but Ragnuk the Fifth, Head of Gringotts bank. "Good afternoon Ragnuk-nür, I was wondering if you could do a heritage test for Harry Potter and see what vaults he would have access to. He is no longer considered to be a Potter."

Ragnuk looked, more like glared, at the boy with curiosity out of his beady black eyes. "Of course Gurgok-nür. Come Harry let us do some diagnostics." At the end of the tests it was found that Harry was applicable for quite a few vaults. "Well Mr. Harry it seems that you now have vaults 1, 4, 7, 51, 187, 389 and 541 in your possession. They are the Emyrs vault, the Gryffindor vault, the Slytherin vault, the Peverell, the Maleficus vault, the Sapientia vault, and the Carter vault. All noble pure-blood families, some more known than others. The Carter vault holds 470,000 Galleons. That is your smallest account. Inside the Sapienta vault there is 530,000 Galleons. Then the Maleficus vault contains 618,000 Galleons. The Peverell vault holds 860,000 Galleons. In all founders vault there are 1,020,000 Galleons. Lastly, in the Emyrs vault there are 1,450,000 Galleons. All of those amounts are approximate, and they do not include the numbers of Sickles and Knuts, and personal heirlooms."

Harry's eyes were bulging out of their sockets when he heard the amount of money in his accounts. "Thank you very much for your help Ragnuk-nür. May your wealth increase infinitely and your enemies ever perish. How much commission am I able to give to you from my account amounts? I wish to give you full commission, at least five percent!" Harry exclaimed, filled with new confidence that he could handle the world on his own. "Oh! And from now on my last name is no longer Potter. Lily and James have shown me that I am not welcome. I'm going to take on the surname of Carter."

"I cannot let you give me five percent, the highest amount is four percent, and even that is too much for a child. I am not going to abuse the money of a child with your manners." Ragnuk told him fiercely.

"Well then let me start with two percent and eventually work up to four percent." Harry decided thinking that this was the best way to show his generosity.

"Thank you very much Mr. Carter, I wish you the best of luck in your travels. However before you leave, I thought that you may want to see what results your blood test diagnosed. Follow me." Ragnuk lead Harry into a soundproof room where a piece of parchment lay on a lone table. Ragnuk peered at the fairly long list and read it off to Harry. "Here is what the parchment states."

_Name: Harry Severus Potter._

_Father: James Potter – Biological Father _

_Mother: Lily Potter – Biological Mother_

_Sibling(s): Benjamin James Potter – Biological Brother_

_Prodigies in the following Magical Arts:_

_Potions_

_Charms_

_Transfiguration_

_Defense Against the Dark Arts_

_Arithmancy _

_Ancient Runes_

_Natural talents in the following Magical Arts:_

_Parseltounge_

_Parsel magic_

_Wandless magic_

_Ice Elemental_

_Shadow Elemental_

_Light Elemental_

_Water Elemental_

_Lightning Elemental_

_Occlumency_

_Animagi _

Harry was shocked by his crazy amount of powers. He could feel his power pulsing through it, his magical core overwhelming him and acting as his heart providing life for him. Ragnuk was awed that such a powerful, and polite mind you, wizard was in his presence. Even his own parents hadn't realized his power. He most likely had more raw power than that of Dumbledore, and he wasn't schooled. When he was he would definitely be competition to Merlin himself. The goblin and the wizard walked out of the soundproof, white walled room, which Harry thought was a room for people to go insane. "Would you like to get emancipated?" Ragnuk asked.

"What's that?"

"You will be considered an adult, and a Lord of all the Ancient and Noble houses that you have heritage to."

"Yes please!" Harry said excitedly. "If that's alright with you Ragnuk-nür." the boy added a few seconds later remembering his manners. All that was required of Harry was 7 drops of his blood put into a silver bowl, so he conjured a sewing needle and pricked his finger. He squeezed his finger and 7 drops of blood fell into the bowl. As soon as the required number of blood droplets fell into the bowl, the blood no longer stained the bowl red, but they droplets swirled around and formed 7 family rings. Ragnuk stretched his boney hands over the rings and handed them to Harry. Harry immediately placed them inside a pouch and placed the pouch full of rings in the bigger on the inside bag he carried.

Now finished with his financial troubles, the newly named Harry Carter was ready to leave behind the Potter family. With a sack full of golden Galleons, silver Sickles, and bronze Knuts inside his bag, he was prepared for anything. He was about to walk out the door of Gringotts when a teller goblin ran up to him and said, "Lord Carter, I have been told by Master Ragnuk-nür to give you this Peverell family heirloom."

Harry stared at the package and opened the parcel like it was Christmas day. Once opening it he was disappointed to only see a silvery, transparent-like clothed cloak. "What is it Griphook-nür?" Harry asked politely, trying to keep the disappointment out of his voice.

"It's an invisibility cloak, Lord Carter. It makes the wearer invisible."

Harry's eyes widened in shock. Something that rare and valuable in his six year old hands. The folded cloak was placed in his bag and he left the bank. His next stop was Ollivander's wand shop. His brother was obviously going to get his wand on his eleventh birthday, so him getting something his brother didn't have made him feel giddy with excitement. He read the sign above Ollivander's and it said_ Making Wands since 382 A.D._ He walked into the store and the bell rang as the door was open. A silver-blue eyed, white haired man came up to him. "Aren't you a little young to be receiving your magic wand?" the man, presumably Ollivander, asked him in a dreamy, far away voice.

"No sir I'm emancipated. I'm old enough." Harry told him.

"Well Mr..."

"Harry. Harry Carter, used to be Potter." Harry filled in for him.

"Well Mr. Carter, let's start testing then." Ollivander said, but Harry corrected him. Harry had deducted, that from all his raw power and his talent for wandless magic, he might require a custom made wand and told Mr. Ollivander just that. "Well that is hardly likely and hasn't happened in quite a long while. Why don't we test the premade wands first and then, if one doesn't choose you – the wand does indeed choose the wizard – we shall see arrangements for a custom made wand." Harry simply nodded.

Ollivander started off with his basic procedure, a little doubtful that the boy would require a custom wand, he was quite young so he should get the wand for him sooner rather than later. He started off with "Mahogany with a unicorn hair core. 10 inches, rather whippy." The wand didn't feel right to Harry and the moment he waved it the wand spontaneously combusted. Ollivander had never seen that before; he decided to step up his game. "Cedar wood with a dragon-heart string core. 13 inches, swishy." That wand luckily did _not_ explode, however the wand still wasn't right for him. They tried wand after wand when Ollivander came up with an idea. He had decided to test out the wand he wished to reserve for Benjamin Potter, the defeater of Voldemort. "Holly with a phoenix feather core. 11 inches, nice and supple." That was by far the best fit yet for Harry, but still it wasn't right. Unfortunately that was the most likely wand for young Harry. It seems like Harry was right that he would need a custom wand. "Follow me." the old man ordered, and Harry padded after him.

They walked into a room, smaller than the main one. Cabinets lined the walls, filled with different wand components. There was a table pressed against the back wall in between two cabinets. Ollivander told him to walk around the room and he would select the ingredients for his new wand. He walked from cabinet to cabinet and ten ingredients had chosen to be in his wand. He held them in his hand as he headed towards the table to show the wand maker. He placed the items on the table and Ollivander told him what he had selected. "There is wood from Thor's Oak. Those metals selected are Living Silver and Enchanted Platinum both created by Nicholas Flamel, the great alchemist. The seven core elements are a claw from the Nemean Lion, the tail hair of a Thestral, a scale from the tail of a merman, a shard of a purple amethyst, a scrap of fur from a Nundu, Basilisk venom, and a feather of an Ice Phoenix. Most, almost all, of these ingredients are extremely rare and powerful. Why this will be the most complex and challenging wand I have created. Since the holidays aren't busy come back in three days and your wand will be ready."

During those three days, Harry settled in Carter manor and made his plans for the next five years. He planned on travelling the world, seeking to learn more about different wizarding communities, laws, and tutoring. He wished to pursue knowledge and think outside the box. The library at Carter manor wasn't as large as the Potter, and it certainly didn't have the splendid, pompous air of the long line of Potters that came before him. Thankfully, he took all the books he needed to get up to N.E.W.T level. It's not like anyone in the Potter household read anything from the library anyway. He sighed and checked his watch. It read _3:58_ _pm_. The book he was reading was closed and placed on the wood coffee table in front of him. The fireplace glowed green as if it could sense he was about to Floo to Diagon Alley. Harry grabbed a hand full of Floo power, stepped into the green flames of the fireplace, and shouted calmly, "DIAGON ALLEY!"

There was a tugging sensation in his left nostril and he started turning and turning until his feet crashed onto solid ground. He keeled over and almost tossed his cookies. Once he regained his composure he went through the same process he did three days before. He walked through the Leaky Cauldron, went in to Diagon Alley, and entered Ollivander's wand shop. "Ah. Mr. Potter… Has it been three days already? I often lose track of time." Ollivander mumbled to himself, his misty blue eyes glinting with surprsie. Harry didn't bother to correct him when he said Mr. Potter. He looked like a replica of his dad, people are going to always call him Potter. "Come with me, come with me."

Harry walked behind the counter and followed Ollivander to that same small room where he had first felt a magical connection of what was to be his wand. Lying on the table was an ornate box and a wand holster. He practically ran towards the box dying to see what was inside. Inside the box was a wand. His wand. It was 13 inches. It had a silver handle with the platinum weaved around it, the wood was a brown-mahogany colour, and when he held it he was filled with power and felt his powerful aura surround him like a blanket of darkness. The wand glowed a faint lilac colour, Harry believed it was from the amethyst, which illuminated the dull room. "Thanks Mr. Ollivander! I love it!" he reassured the old man as the man looked doubtful that he would be able to use it.

"Well, Mr. Potter. The cost is 15 Galleons." Ollivander told him.

Harry took the coins out of his pouch and handed them to Ollivander. Ollivander counted the gold and pocketed it. The raven haired boy left the shop with a new wand in his bag. Deciding to try out his new wand he cast his first spell. He took off his broken glasses and commanded, "_Oculus Reparo_." The tape unraveled, the shattered glass mended, and the glasses were placed back on the bridge of his nose. The little boy walked back to the Leaky Cauldron with a skip in his step wondering where his life would lead him.


	4. The Hogwarts Letter and The Sorting

**AN: So here's the new chapter. It's a lot harder to find time to write now that exams are upon us. No matter, I shall push through. Oh how I love being dramatic. Anyway, I have chapter 6 finished now. Working on the seventh chapter. You know what to do. Read and Review.**

**Disclaimer: I am not saying this again. You want a disclaimer go to the first two chapters.**

A thin but muscular, green-eyed ten year old boy stood outside a door to Potter Manor, with a suitcase rolling behind him being pulled by his hands. He raised his fist and rapped on the door. The knocking was answered by a messy haired man, who looked like a mirror image of him except for his eyes. His warm hazel eyes looked down upon the little boy. His small smile turned into a slight frown. "Sorry," the man said, "We're not buying." The man then shut the door and the little boy was very annoyed. 'Honestly.' he thought, 'It's like they don't even remember me. A boy who looks exactly like you comes to your door and you think he's selling something!' Harry threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. He took the handle of his suitcase and strolled into the nearest pub, using the Floo Network to return to his home for his birthday tomorrow. Carter Manor. He stumbled out of his fireplace covered in soot from head to toe. 'Damn it.' Harry thought. 'These clothes were new.' There was only one thing to do to clean the soot off of his clothes.

"Scourgify!" he cast, pointing his wand at his clothes. The soot quickly disappeared from his new clothes and he plopped down on the couch, an Arithemancy book in arm.

He was reading about how to take apart spells and remake them. The page was explaining how to take apart a common disarming spell, _Expelliarmus,_ and make it more powerful. He felt his eyes droop and he had to stifle a yawn. 'Stupid time differences!' he thought angrily, his eyes fluttering attempting to avoid sleeping. He slowly blinked, but his eyes once shut never reopened. His breathing became faint and he immediately drifted into the dream domain.

He awoke early the next morning, only to find wise brown eyes staring at him. The figure let out a hoot, so Harry rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and he saw his snowy owl, Hedwig, in front of him sticking out her leg. Attached to her leg were two parcels which read _To Harry, Happy Birthday, Love Padfoot and Moony. _He smiled. Never once had they forgotten his birthday. Even when he was in Canada, the United States, Japan, Italy, and many other places with his "teacher", and they had _no_ idea where he was. He had always gotten their gift, along with Sev's, via Hedwig on his birthday and Christmas. There were presents sent their way too. The wrapping paper was quickly ripped off and two new books were revealed. Harry was confused as he had surpassed the information in these textbooks. He wasn't disappointed just muddled. Then he took out Severus's gift that he had received the night before. A smile appeared on his face as he saw the new O.W.L. level Potions book. He immediately ran to his potions lab to start brewing a potion, and if not for the house-elves he would have forgotten to eat lunch and dinner. Before he knew it, it was 11:58 pm. He waited, staring at the clock, for the minute hand to turn to 11:59. _5, 4, 3, 2, 1… _And Harry turned eleven years old. Right on the dot a barn owl swooped in with a cream coloured letter attached to its leg. Harry grabbed it and saw the crimson red wax seal with the infamous H on it. He tore it open and quickly read;

_Dear Mr. H. Potter,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at __Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry__. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_Term begins on __1 September__. We await your owl by no later than __31 July__._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress_

Harry hastily wrote a reply letter with one word on it. _Yes_. The return letter was tied to the owl's leg and sent off back to Hogwarts. He quickly opened the school supply list which read;

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL __of __WITCHCRAFT __and__ WIZARDRY_

_UNIFORM _

_First-year students will require:_

_1. Three sets of plain work __robes__ (black)_

_2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear_

_3. One pair of protective gloves (__dragon__ hide or similar)_

_4. One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)_

_Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags._

_COURSE BOOKS_

_All students should have a copy of each of the following:_

_The Standard Book of Spells__ (Grade 1)_

_by __Miranda Goshawk_

_A History of Magic_

_by __Bathilda Bagshot_

_Magical Theory_

_by __Adalbert Waffling_

_A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration_

_by __Emeric Switch_

_One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_

_by __Phyllida Spore_

_Magical Drafts and Potions_

_by __Arsenius Jigger_

_Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_

_by __Newt Scamander_

_The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection_

_by __Quentin Trimble_

_OTHER EQUIPMENT_

_1 __wand_

_1 __cauldron__ (pewter, standard size 2)_

_1 set glass or crystal phials_

_1 __telescope_

_1 set __brass scales_

_Students may also bring, if they desire, an __owl__ OR a __cat__ OR a __toad__._

_PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS_

_ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN __BROOMSTICK_

Luckily Harry already had almost all of the items required. He was only missing two of the course books. He looked closely at the list and then back to the books Remus and Sirius had got him, then back to the list again and laughed. Sirius and Remus had somehow gotten him the two books he was missing. He walked to the manor kitchens and cut a slice of the chocolate cake the house-elves had made him. A thought popped into his head that this year might not be so bad. Then he remembered his intolerable git of a twin and his day got much, much worse.

**Potter Manor**

Benjamin ran into the kitchen with a Hogwarts letter in his hand. "MOM! DAD! I GOT IT!" he shouted gleefully, jumping and hollering with joy. His mom smiled as she poured the syrup on the homemade pancakes she made for Ben's special birthday breakfast.

James walked up to him and ruffled his son's dark red hair. "Kiddo, you're the Boy-Who-Lived! Did you doubt for a second that you wouldn't get accepted into Hogwarts?" Benjamin just grinned, his ego inflated second by second until you could smell the arrogance in the air.

Soon the gifts started flowing in and the birthday party kicked off. Ronald Weasley, his best friend, came and he was going to go to Hogwarts as well. They boasted to anyone and everyone how they would definitely be sorted into Gryffindor. Remus had asked James where they thought Harry would be sorted into and James stared at him with a blank face. "Harry?" he asked. "Where ever the hat puts him I guess. Why? Who is he?" That was when Remus and Sirius went into hyper drive. They ran around Potter manor frantically looking for Harry. They had always looked for him, but he had always received the mail they sent and he had even sent replies back. They had just thought Harry had hidden from everyone, the manor was huge it had tonnes of places to hide. Their search ended and they wanted to break down and cry. Remus had lost his godson and Sirius had lost the little boy he loved as a son.

**Carter Manor**

It was September 1st and Harry had finished packing his trunk. He flooed to Kings Cross and since there was a lot of time before the train left it was easy to avoid the Potters and he found a compartment easily. He got comfortable in his compartment soon enough, cast a charm repelling his brother and his little followers, and quickly took out a book to start reading. The book entranced him so much that he had barely heard the train whistle blow. Quite quickly after the train left a bushy haired girl came into his compartment. "Hello," she said shyly, "I'm Hermione Granger. And you are?"

"Carter. Harry Carter. Used to be Potter, etc. etc. Are your parents interested in Homer's works? Helen of Troy had a daughter named Hermione." He answered not looking up from his book.

"Yes actually! They are fans of Homer. By the way, are you trying to act like James Bond?" she asked laughing. At his confused look she started to explain. "James Bond was this spy who always introduced himself as _Bond. James Bond__._"

"Is that some muggle thing? Are you muggleborn?" Harry asked. His voice holding curiosity and a hint of rudeness.

"Yes. Is that some sort of bad thing? Never mind. Don't answer that." She shook her head and smiled. "I'm sorry. I'm nervous, and when I'm nervous I ramble and when I ramble I tend to get annoying and… Wait! Did you say Harry Potter?" Harry just nodded. 'Man of few words apparently.' She thought dryly. "So do you know Benjamin Potter? What's he like? Sorry… I'm just curious…"

"Yes I know Benjamin, and he's a spoiled git who gets everything he wants just because people think he did something that he didn't do!" he spat out angrily, constantly furious at the attention his brother received.

"He didn't do that? Does that mean that you did it? You conquered You-Know-Who?"

"Voldemort. His name is Voldemort. Fear of a name creates fear of the thing itself. Now say it with me. Voldemort." Harry commanded.

"V-vol…d-d-de…m-m-mort." Hermione squealed as if she expected him to just pop into existence. "Harry can you teach me magic? I mean I tried a few simple spells and they all worked for me but it would be exciting to learn from a wizard!"

"You're going to learn from wizards at Hogwarts." Harry told her exasperatedly. He just wanted to continue reading.

"How can we know if everything at Hogwarts is what it seems to be?" she countered. "How do we know that Dumbledore is some saint and not some manipulative old coot!?"

"You know. I'm starting to like you Hermione. Not everyone has the brains to believe that Dumbledore is an old coot who just cares about the Greater Good when nobody knows what the Greater Good actually is." Harry smiled. "Sit down." And she sat across from him. "Now be silent and don't say a word. Try to feel your magic energy and let the feeling wash over you as if it was a tidal wave." She closed her eyes. It took about twenty minutes for her eyes to snap open and a shocked gasp to escape her mouth.

"It was beautiful!" she told him, her bushy hair looking even wilder. "I could see a vast plane of all the colours imaginable as far as I could see. Oh Harry it was amazing! What was it?"

From his expression, anyone could see that he was clearly shocked. "That was your magical core. I only know one person who described it as you did, and one other person who was very close to that but it was suppressed as if the person didn't believe in their talents. Anyway, you should get changed into your robes. I expect we'll be arriving soon."

"I hope we're in the same house Harry." Hermione smiled at him and was about to leave the compartment when she asked, "Who is the other person?"

"You're looking at him." The compartment was silent for who knows how long until Hermione left to put on her robes and shut the compartment door. It was when she left that Harry let out a huge sigh.

Soon the train arrived at Hogsmeade, the village near Hogwarts. A half-giant named Hagrid took them over to Hogwarts by boat where Harry was put in a boat with Hermione, a boy named Neville, and a red-haired girl by the name of Susan Bones. Hagrid lead them into the castle where they were met with a stern looking woman. The woman, who they soon found out was Professor McGonagall. There she told them about the history of the founders and the possible houses that they could be sorted into. She led them through a huge door and into the Great Hall. The ceiling reflected the night sky and the candles burned brighter than ever, and Hermione constantly reminded them that she read about it in Hogwarts: A History. At the front of the Hall was a stool upon which was a ragged old hat.

McGonagall then said, "I will call you up individually and you will place this hat on your head. You will then be sorted into your House."

_Hannah Abbott - Hufflepuff_

_Susan Bones – Hufflepuff_

_Terry Boot – Ravenclaw_

Eventually Professor McGonagall reached one of the few names Harry was actually interested in. "Hermione Granger." she called out. Hermione nervously walked up to the stool and crammed the hat on her head. After about two minutes the hat called out "GRYFFINDOR!" and the table clad in red and gold started clapping.

Harry tuned out after that but vaguely heard Neville get sorted into Gryffindor and Draco Malfoy get sorted into Slytherin. Then Professor McGonagall called out the name everyone was waiting for. "Benjamin Potter." The Great Hall broke into excited whispers as Benjamin strutted up to the stool and placed the hat on his head. It took about five minutes before the hat decided on a house for the supposed Boy-Who-Lived and Harry was getting rather bored. That is until he heard the word "SLYTHERIN!" echo throughout the Hall. The silence was astounding. Severus looked as if he was a dead man, James promptly fainted, Dumbledore's glass slipped out of his hands and shattered on the floor, and everyone's mouths were hanging wide open. Harry just smirked. 'Serves him right, the big twat.' He thought happily. It took a long time for everyone to come out of their shocked stupor. Benjamin somehow managed to walk to the Slytherin table. Nobody clapped.

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and read out the next name on the list. She moved her lips but no name came out. The name wasn't possible. "Ha-Harry P-Potter." the old woman spluttered out. All the students started to whisper again probably wondering what the poor relation between him and Benjamin was. Everyone knew that there was only one Potter child. Harry walked confidently towards the stool, sat down, and placed the hat on his head. "I'm Harry Carter. I haven't been a Potter for a long time." He told McGonagall.

_Ahhh another Potter child. _The hat voiced inside his mind. _The real Boy-Who-Lived. Why do you keep that a secret? And goodness! You're being trained by… _'Don't finish that thought if you want to keep talking. I will sew you're mouth shut.' he thought angrily. 'I know who is training me.' _Okay, okay, keep your cloak on. You are certainly to wise for poor old Ravenclaw. You would not do well in Hufflepuff. You are loyal, however people must earn your loyalty. Slytherin would do well for you. Certainly cunning. _'Anything but Slytherin.' Harry thought to the hat. 'I do not want to be with my brother.' _Well then better be… _'Wait,' Harry stalled, 'Aren't I a bit too rash to be put in Gryffindor.' _That's true but there is no other option. Better be _"GRYFFINDOR!"

Everyone clapped politely, but Hermione was jumping up and down and from the Professor Table, Sirius grinned at him. Lily goggled at him as if she had just remembered that she had a second son. He walked over to the Gryffindor table only to be hugged by Hermione the moment he arrived. He glanced around as his lungs were being crushed. "Fred, George, help me." he gasped. The red-haired twins stared at him and suddenly smiled and high-fived him.

"Blimey Harry! Haven't seen you in a while!" George grinned.

"Good to see you again mate!" Fred slapped him on the back.

"Got to plan some pranks sometime soon." George snickered. "Maybe Snape? McGonagall?"

"How about Dumbledore?" Harry smirked slyly.

Eventually the last two first years were sorted into their houses. Ronald Weasley to Gryffindor and Blaise Zabini to Slytherin. Dumbledore stepped up to the podium and gave his yearly speech about places to avoid and banned joke products, but the twinkle escaped his eyes. The man spread out his arms and his voice boomed, "Let the feast begin!" Piles of food appeared on the tables and the Welcoming Feast commenced.


	5. The First Day in the Lion's Den (Hell)

**AN: Hey guys! New chapter for you all! And yes I****did****check the dates for Eggo waffles... you'll understand. So I am starting a Whouffle fanfiction that I may or may not post. (yes I am a whoufflepuff) Tell me if you want to read my Whouffle fanfiction. You know what to do! Read and Review!**

**Disclaimer: You know the drill. I don't own Harry Potter! *Hurrummph!* I just play in the little sandbox that J.K. Rowling created.**

After the feast the prefects lead their houses to their respective common rooms. When they left Benjamin glared at Harry but Harry couldn't care less. Honestly, his brother wasn't worth his trouble. Instead he just draped his arm over Hermione's shoulders and said, "Well 'Mione we better catch up with our fellow _Gryffindors_." He stressed his house name just to bother Benjamin and it worked. His face turned beet red and when Harry turned his back to Benjamin, the new Slytherin lived up to his house's name and casted a "Stupefy!" on his twin. Luckily for Harry he knew how to cast a shield charm due to his teacher's lessons, protecting him and Hermione. Unfortunately for Benjamin, Professor McGonagall chose that moment to walk out of the Hall and firmly told Benjamin, "Thirty points from Slytherin for casting a spell on an unarmed student when his back was turned. I expected better than that from you Mr. Potter. Twenty points to Gryffindor for astounding spell work and protecting yourself and an innocent student from an unjust attack, Mr…" she paused and looked as if she had just swallowed a lemon, "Carter. Now off you go. Back to your Common Rooms."

Harry and Hermione ran towards the group of Gryffindors that were slowly disappearing. Benjamin just stood there and practically growled before he sulked off to the Slytherins. The first years eventually stood in front of a portrait of a Fat Lady who liked to sing soprano. "Caput Draconis." Said Percy Weasley the fifth year prefect of Gryffindor.

"Wait Wait Wait." the Fat Lady commanded. She sung a high note but the glass didn't break. She sung even higher and the glass still didn't break. She sung the highest note she could which made all the Gryffindors cover their ears. In trying to break the glass she slammed it against the back of the portrait and she finally managed to break the glass.

"Caput Draconis." Percy said sounding very annoyed at the portrait's antics.

"Fine no need to be rude." the lady sniffed. The door to the Gryffindor Common Room swung open to reveal a well decorated room with furniture of red and gold and a lit fireplace with flickering tongues of fire. The first years wandered into the room with saucer shaped eyes and their jaws were hanging wide open in awe. Everyone except Harry. He had seen better sights like Niagara Falls, Ayres Rock, and the Northern Lights.

"It looks so cozy." Hermione happily stated gabbing Harry's hands. "Look at the chairs! Don't you think you would just sink into the cushions?!" Harry grinned at her enthusiasm.

"They do look comfy." Harry reassured her.

Percy led them into the Common Room and told them, "Boys dormitory upstairs to the left. Girls the same on right. Breakfast starts at 7:30 am. Tomorrow is the first day of classes so you should get to bed. You'll find that all of your belongings have already been brought up. Good night."

Percy left and Harry walked up the stairs and went into his dormitory. He found his name on a door with two other names. The names were _Neville Longbottom and Seamus Finnegan_. Wasley and a boy named Dean Thomas were rooming in the other dormitory beside them. He stripped off his shirt and was about to pull on his pajama top when Neville Longbottom walked into the dormitory. Neville profoundly blushed and turned away. "S-sorry H-h-harry I-I didn't m-mean t-too." Harry smiled and told him that it wasn't his fault. He was the one who wasn't wearing a shirt after all. He actually pulled on his shirt this time and did the same for his pajama bottoms. The washroom soon occupied one Harry Carter with now minty fresh breath and damp raven hair. The eleven year old boy tiredly stumbled into the room. Neville and the new boy Seamus Finnegan were already in bed. His thick black eyelashes fluttered with every breath. The red and gold bed looked so inviting that Harry immediately got into bed and he fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

The emerald green eyed boy awoke to new and unfamiliar surroundings. Instead of being in his bed at Carter Manor, he was in a bedroom with two other boys his age. Then he remembered that he was at Hogwarts in the First Year Boys Dormitory. He smelled his breath, winced, and went to brush his teeth. Then he threw on black robes with red piping. It took him about five minutes to figure out how to properly tie the red and gold striped tie that was lying on the chair next to his bed. His raven black hair remained untamed as he climbed down the stairs into the Gryffindor Common Room. He checked the clock to see that it was 6:54 am. That was shocking! He had never willingly woken up early in the morning. Usually his mentor had to use freezing cold water to wake him up. One of the many reasons the old man bothered him. He spent a few minutes packing his book bag. By that time it was already 7:02 am, so Harry made his way down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

When he made it to the Great Hall, having getting lost about 16 times, most of the upper year students were already there along with Hermione eating corn flakes. Harry walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat down next to Hermione. "What the hell Hermione! What time did you wake up?" Harry asked incredulously as he stacked waffles onto his plate.

"Oh you know about 6:15. I couldn't sleep. I'm just so excited!" Hermione said bouncing up and down.

"Mhmm. Pass the syrup please."

"What's that supposed to mean!" Hermione asked angrily.

"It means I'm hungry and my waffles need syrup. So please my dearest Hermione pass the god-damned syrup!" Harry exclaimed.

"No need to be huffy." Hermione said her voice dripping with fake sadness as she passed him the syrup. "Have you ever tried Eggo waffles?"

"I love those things. I tried them when I was in America. The pancakes are taste awful, but I love the blueberry waffles." Harry told her. "They should get a magic toaster and make some Eggo waffles."

"Why Harry?" Hermione asked. "Do they L'Eggo your Eggo?"

"Don't you know it Hermione!" Harry smirked. "Anyway we need to go to McGonagall and get our class schedules."

Harry and Hermione finished their breakfast and went to see their Head of House for their class schedules. The moment they got the slips of paper they walked out of the Great Hall and looked for the way to the dungeons.

"Shit we have Potions with the Slytherin first. Honestly do they want to make us suffer?" Harry complained. "At least Snape isn't too bad."

"Harry, Snape is supposedly the most biased teacher in the school." Hermione told him shocked.

"He's my godfather 'Mione." he reassured her.

"Oh! I never would have guessed. At least after that we have Astronomy and History of Magic with the Ravenclaws. We also have Herbology with the Hufflepuffs."

"I guess, but we have Charms, DADA, Flying, _and_ Transfiguration with Slytherin along with Potions. How am I supposed to survive with my brother's big ego suffocating me?" Harry whined.

"Oh get over yourself Harry. We need to get to Potions early. Snape hates students who are late and since we're Gryffindors he won't hesitate to take off points."

Harry nodded and the two first years ran down the Hogwarts hallways in a search to find the dungeons. They were the first ones there and they still had twenty minutes to kill before class started. "Come on Hermione we should go and set up our stuff." Harry told her. "And I should introduce you to my godfather." Harry opened the door and a blast of cold air made Hermione shiver.

"Come in." Professor Snape said.

"Hello Professor. I was hoping that I could have a word with you before class." Harry smirked.

Snape looked up from his papers and smiled. "Harry! I haven't seen you in ages! How are you?"

"I'm good Uncle Sev. How are you managing to teach the rest of the dunderhead Gryffindors?"

Snape rubbed his temples. "I'm not."

Hermione stood off to the side watching the Potions professor and her new friend chat like old pals. She cleared her throat. "Hello Ms. Granger. I'm Professor Snape, the Potions Master." Severus told her coolly. "Mr. Carter why don't you and Ms. Granger set up your cauldrons before the rest of the class get here."

Harry and Hermione set up their cauldrons near the front of the classroom as the students trickled in. Once all of the students were seated Professor Snape stood up and said in a terrifying voice, "You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word. Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even put a stopper in death—if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

The professor began to take roll call and stopped on Benjamin's name. "Ah, yes," he said softly, "Mr. Potter. Our new – _celebrity_." Silence followed that sentence. The silence was broken by Harry's quiet snicker. "Potter!" barked Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

"How would I know?" Benjamin sneered.

Snape's lips curled up in a smirk. "Tut, tut-fame clearly isn't everything. Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

"Who cares?" Benjamin said in his arrogant and triumphant _I'm the Boy Who Lived_ manner.

"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter? One last time. What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolf's bane?"

"No idea, Sniveallus."

At that line Snape's eyes blazed with anger, and Benjamin suddenly realized he had went too far. Then Snape did something that surprised everyone. "Fifty points from Slytherin and detention with Filch for a month!" Benjamin had enough brains to know that he shouldn't speak. "Maybe your brother could answer those questions. Mr. Carter?"

Harry opened his mouth and said, "Powdered root of asphodel and an infusion of wormwood along with Valerian root, a Sopophorous Bean, and a Sloth Brain create the Draught of Living Death, a sleeping potion so powerful it leaves the recipient in a powerful coma that makes them appear dead. The effects of the Draught of Living Death can be reversed by the Wiggenweld Potion."

"Correct." Snape said. "Continue."

"A bezoar is a stone found in the stomach of a goat and it can save you from most poisons, but not all. An example of a poison that a bezoar cannot save you from is Basilisk venom. The only known cure for that poison are Phoenix tears."

"Correct once again. And the last question?"

"Monkshood and wolf's bane are the same plant. It also goes by the names of aconite, leopard's bane, women's bane, devil's helmet, and blue rocket."

"All three correct. Ten points to Gryffindor. Well, why aren't you copying all this down!?" Severus asked.

All that was heard in the room was deafening silence and the scratching of quills against pieces of parchment. Harry sighed and took out his Potions journal and a black ballpoint pen. 'Why is wizarding Britain so behind the rest of the world? Ugh!' he thought as he wrote down what he had just answered in his notebook.

"Today we will learn how to brew a Boil-Cure potion. The instructions are on the board. Now partner up and get to work!" Severus commanded his class. Harry partnered up with the obvious choice, Hermione. Harry had to explain to Hermione that some instructions needed to be changed to make the potion better. By the end of class they had brewed the potion almost perfectly resulting in the emitting of the pink fumes from the cauldron. However right before class ended Neville Longbottom's cauldron melted and a liquid seeped out that made boils appear on Seamus Finnegan, his partner.

"Weasley thought it would make you look good if Longbottom got it wrong. A point from Gryffindor." Snape reprimanded. Ron's eyes looked to the floor. Benjamin, who was his partner, looked very sympathetic for his best friend and glared at his Head of House. "Longbottom take Finnegan to the hospital wing. The rest of you, hand in a sample of your potion to be graded." Harry took a sample of his and Hermione's potion and put it on Snape's desk. Snape gave him a slight smile. "Good work Harry. This is an acceptable potion."

The boy smirked, "Thank you, sir."

"No homework for today. Hopefully you'll think of all of the things you did wrong today while making your potions and think out how to fix them." Professor Snape announced to the class. "You're dismissed."

Harry packed away his Potion books and shrunk his cauldron to make it fit inside his bag. He tapped Hermione on the shoulder, motioned towards the exit, and the two friends made their way to their next class, Defense Against the Dark Arts. This was one of the classes that Harry was most looking forward to, despite having class with the Slytherins. It's not that Harry doesn't like the Slytherin house, it's just that he absolutely despises his brother. There were two teachers for this class, Professor Quirrell and Professor Black, and when Harry saw who he had he groaned. Unfortunately, the first year class was being taught by Professor Quirrell. The room stank like garlic and the professor jumped at his own shadow. He was a joke. Harry was thankful when the class was over and immediately went to the Gryffindor Common Room to take a shower. He had to get rid of the putrid stench of garlic somehow.

After his shower, he worked on his DADA essay on vampires. By the time his essay was finished it was 9:00 pm, so Harry decided to call it a night. 'I survived my first day in the Lion's Den. Thankfully, my brother was in the Snake's Nest. Still, it was hell.' Harry thought, right before he drifted into a deep slumber.


	6. Good Things and Bad Things

**AN: Sorry I posted a chapter a day late. I didn't have time to post last night. You guys won't be getting a chapter next week because I have exam... Yay... So enjoy this!**

**Disclaimer: We've been over this enough.**

It was a Wednesday when another class, besides Potions, became interesting. That class was Flying.

"Alright. One person to a broom." James Potter, the new flying instructor, hollered. "Now put your hand over your broom and say UP!"

All at once the students yelled "UP!" but very few brooms flew into the hands of the first years. The only brooms that responded instantly were Harry's, Benjamin's, and Draco's brooms. Hermione's broom rolled over and Weasley's broom didn't move at all. However, in the end everyone's broom was in one student's hand or another.

"Now kick off of the ground when I reach the count of three." James told them. "One, two, th…"

Everyone was preparing to kick off when suddenly Neville lost control of his broom which was steady rising higher into the air by the second. The broom was moving back and forth as if it were trying to shake Neville off. "Neville!" James exclaimed. "Get back here."

"AHHH! I can't!" Neville screamed, his voice full of panic. "Help me! Somebody please help!"

Neville's broom flew higher and higher, backwards and forwards, it moved in every which way or another. Soon, Neville's grip on the broom faltered. He was clinging on to the broom with one hand. His fingers started to slip from their grasp on the broom handle. He fell off the broom and started falling through the air. His cloak got snagged on the sword of a statue on the Hogwarts roof. The fabric started to rip and Neville soon found himself falling through the air once more. Harry thought that his father would have the decency to cast a cushioning charm under Neville, but to no avail his hopes were shattered. A sickening _crack_ was heard and James rushed over to Neville who was cradling his wrist.

"Broken wrist." James announced. "Let's get you to Madam Pomfrey." James helped Neville up from the ground. "Nobody leave the ground or you'll be expelled before you can say Quidditch."

The two left the field and entered Hogwarts. The moment James was out of sight his spawn, Benjamin, walked to the place where Neville fell and picked up a glass sphere. It was the Remembrall that Neville had received via owl from his grandmother. He tossed it from hand to hand and announced, "If the fat lump had given this a squeeze, maybe he would've remembered to fall on his fat arse!"

Harry walked up to him, stuck out his hand, and calmly said, "Give it here brother dearest."

"No way you squib. Finders Keepers!" Benjamin told him. "Maybe I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find. How 'bout on the roof." With that he soared off on his broom.

Harry was about to follow him when Hermione ran up to him. "Harry you can't! You'll get expelled!"

"Hermione I have to! This is a family matter. I have to show him what a slimy git he is." Harry said angrily.

Harry soared up on his broom and matched his brother in height. This was a Potter showdown. "Oh brother of mine. How about we settle this like civil people and you hand back Neville's Remembrall right now." _Or maybe I'll knock you off your broom and make you sing soprano_.

"Or maybe you can go catch it!" Benjamin yelled at him. "There's no chance of you reaching the Remembrall before it hits the solid ground!"

Before Benjamin threw the Remembrall Harry told him, "Why don't you go acquaint your facial features with the material used in building walls. Oh, and while you're at it, fuck off!" When he finished talking the Remembrall was hurled through the air. Benjamin practically cackled as Harry forced his broom to move at maximum speed. He dived to catch it, the wind running through his hair causing it the fly in front of his eyes. He was about to smash into the ground when he pulled out of dive and caught the Remembrall. He flew back to Hermione and the others. They were all cheering for him, with the exception of Malfoy, Weasley, and his brother.

"Mr. Potter!" A figure coming out of the Hogwarts doors exclaimed. As the figure came into the sunlight it revealed the form of one Professor Minerva McGonagall. "Never in all my years…" she started, shaking her head as she walked towards him. "Mr. Pot…" she caught herself. "Mr. Carter come with me now." Harry followed her into the building when people came to his defense.

"But Professor…" Pavarti said sounding worried about the punishment the boy would receive.

"…it wasn't his fault." Hermione finished for her.

"Quiet Ms. Patil and Ms. Granger." the stern professor told them.

Harry and the Head of Gryffindor House walked down the Hogwarts hallways. Harry started to become confused as they passed her office a while back. Eventually they came to a wooden door where Professor McGonagall rapped her fist on the door. "Quirrell, would you mind if I borrowed Wood for a moment?"

Professor Quirrell stared uncomfortably at the two in the threshold of his classroom before he shook his head to get out of his daydream. "Y-yes. W-w-wood you are ex-excused."

Once he said that a burly looking fifth year came out of the classroom. Professor McGonagall clapped her hands and practically squealed, "Harry this is Oliver Wood, the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain. Wood, I have found you a Seeker!"

"Don't kid me Professor." Wood told her sternly.

"He caught this," she held up the Remembrall, "and pulled out of a 40 foot dive."

"Okay…" Wood's tongue was tied waiting for Harry's name.

"Potter… Carter… Whatever." Harry supplied shaking his head.

"Okay Potter, ever seen a game of Quidditch?"

"Yes, quite a few." Harry told him. The old geezer took him to games everywhere they travelled. He had seen games in Canada, the USA, Japan, and of course Britain. If he didn't know any better, Harry would have called Quiddtich the old man's drug. All he needed was that tiny bit to get him hooked and then _boom_ he was obsessed.

"Well then, training starts next week. Do you have a broom?" Wood asked. Harry shook his head negatively. "Well we'll have to get you one. The school brooms aren't good for a Seeker to use. Professor, it would be better for him to use either a Cleansweep 7 or a Nimbus 2000."

"Okay Wood. Back to class." Professor McGonagall commanded. "Harry. Now Merlin knows we need to win the Quidditch Cup."

'Actually, he doesn't.' Harry thought to himself and smirked.

"Last time we lost the Quidditch Cup I couldn't look Snape in the face for weeks. I better hear that you're working hard, or I might have to kick you off the team." McGonagall warned him.

He nodded and asked, "Professor? May I go to the Hospital Wing? I need to give Neville back his Remembrall."

"Of course Mr. Pot… Carter."

Harry left McGonagall in the dust and ran towards the Hospital Wing with the Remembrall in his hand. The portraits on the walls were yelling at him that running isn't permitted in the halls, but he didn't pay any attention to them. That is he wasn't paying attention until he bumped into Professor Potter. Her red hair flew into her face while he flew back on his arse.

"Oh! Sorry professor I wasn't watching where I was going."

"It's okay Mr…" she trailed off when emerald eyes clashed with one another.

Her mouth was left wide open, and before she shook herself out of her stupor, Harry continued running to the Hospital Wing. He slowed down into a walk as the Hospital Wing door approached. He opened the door and walked into the infirmary. Immediately, he spotted the occupied bed. He also spotted a girl sitting on the chair next to the bed. The girl had hip-length, wavy blonde hair with dreamy silver-blue eyes. The girl gave off an aura of distinct dottiness, obscure beyond belief. Perhaps it was the fact that she stuck her wand behind her ear for safe keeping, or that she had chosen to wear a necklace of Butterbeer caps, or that radish earrings dangled from her ears.

Harry walked up to the two students and smiled, "Hey Neville! You dropped your Remembrall when you fell."

Neville grinned, "Thanks Harry. I was worried that my parents and my nan would get mad at me for losing it. Especially my nan."

"No problem, mate." Harry reassured him, tossing him the object.

"Hello Harry." the girl stated wistfully. "Are there normally this many nargles swarming your head?"

"Oh Harry!" Neville exclaimed. "I forgot to introduce you to my best friend Luna! Harry this is Luna Lovegood. Luna this is Harry Potter."

"Hi Luna. What house are you in?" Harry asked politely.

"I'm in Ravenclaw. You're in Gryffindor aren't you? Neville has told me about you." Luna replied dreamily, her eyes drifting out the window.

Harry's eyebrows reached his hairline. Nobody ever even mentions him, and if you add the fact that Neville barely knew him that made him even more curious. "Well the four of us should hang out sometime. Why don't you come over to the Gryffindor table tomorrow at breakfast?"

"I would like that." Luna merrily said.

"Wait, Harry you said the four of us." Neville inquired.

"Oh yeah." Harry sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "You, Luna, me, and Hermione. The four of us."

"It would be nice to meet Hermione." she smiled. Her blonde hair covering her face making her blow her hair out of the way.

"She seemed nice on the boat." Neville remembered.

"Well Neville, I hope that you're out of the Hospital Wing soon."

"Thanks Harry. Madam Pomfrey said I should be out by tomorrow morning." Neville told him.

"I'll duplicate my notes for you from Astronomy if you want." the raven haired boy asked shyly. He was unsure if Neville would want him do to that. He wasn't used to people wanting his help. Everyone forgot about him, let alone need his help.

He started to walk towards the doors when Neville said, "I'd like that a lot. Thanks, Harry."

Harry genuinely smiled and a rosy colour started to flush his cheeks. He waved goodbye to Neville and Luna, then ran to the Gryffindor Common Room. There he worked on his pointless History of Magic essay, on the one thing Professor Binns talked about. The Goblin Wars. Always the Goblin Wars. He sighed, picking up a quill pen in one hand while the other pulled out a piece of parchment. That stupid ghost isn't fit for teaching. Maybe he should talk to Dumbledore about replacing that professor. His fingers drummed on the coffee table. He shouldn't focus on that, he needed to focus on his essay. Now when did the first rebellion happen again? 1251? No. It was 1612. Harry banged his head on the table repeatedly. History was his favourite subject when it was being taught by a decent teacher, especially the old man. That geezer had a whole bunch of stories at his disposal. He taught Harry about the times when magic was feared. Oh, Harry missed those lessons.

After a long period of mind-killing boredom it was midnight, and Harry climbed up the stairs of the Astronomy Tower. It was his first Astronomy class and luckily it was with the 'Claws. That meant that he could introduce Hermione to Luna. After the perilous climb up the stairs – there were a lot – Harry set up his telescope and pointed it at Jupiter. Luna came up soon after that in weird looking pink glasses.

"Hello Harry. There seem to be more nargles near your head than before. You know, they love the glow of moonlight." Luna waved happily in her unique dreamy manner.

"Hey Luna. Come set up near me." Harry waved back.

Soon after Luna set up her telescope, Hermione arrived. The bushy haired girl blushed profoundly when she saw her green eyed friend talking to a blonde girl. That blush made her realize something. It made her realize that she was jealous. She shook her head as if to shake away her emotions and walked towards Harry and the girl. "Hi Harry." Hermione smiled shyly.

"Hermione!" Harry smiled. "This is Luna. Luna this is Hermione, the one I told you about."

"Hello Hermione." Luna smiled dreamily.

"I met Luna when I went to give Neville back his Remembrall."

After the formal introductions were out of the way, Professor Sinastra started the lesson. They were learning about the different planets in the galaxy and the moons for each one. Harry tried to make sure that his notes were some of the best he had taken. Of course, he knew all the planets and the moons, all the information was placed in a folder in his mind, – thank Merlin for his knowledge, literally – but these notes were for Neville. Harry wanted to help his friend as much as he could. Eventually class ended and Harry's eyes were drooping. He dragged his feet all the way to the Gryffindor Common Room, leaning on Hermione the whole way. He got cozy under his sheets and fell fast asleep.

The next day called for an exciting breakfast. Harry and Hermione got to breakfast at their normal time, however this time they were joined by a drowsy Neville. They sat down at the Gryffindor table waiting for Luna quite impatiently. Well, the boys were impatient. Hermione just read a book while eating her cornflakes.

"Hey Hermione?" Harry asked.

"Yeah Harry." Hermione said not looking up.

Harry looked at Neville and they both grinned maliciously. Hermione needed to see what was happening. "I think you should stop eating the cornflakes and look at Weasley for a second."

Hermione put down her book and turned to look at the youngest Weasley boy with a mouth full of cornflakes. She saw the red-haired prat and the soggy cornflakes flew out of her mouth. Unfortunately the landed on Harry. "Harry I'm so sorry." Hermione apologized, her brown eyes wide with worry.

"It's no problem 'Mione." Harry reassured her. "Look. Scourgify." The wet cornflakes came off of his robes and into an empty bowl.

"What did you do?" Luna asked sneaking up behind them.

Harry jumped and exclaimed, "Good God woman, don't sneak up on me like that!" Hermione and Neville snickered at him. "Now as for what Neville and I did, we just added an Engorgement Charm on the Ron's food. My teacher showed me how to make it affect the person who touches or consumes the object instead of the object itself. I think it was successful. Do you?" Luna just looked at a bloated Ron and smiled.

Harry snuck a glance at the Professor table, only to see Professor Snape's lips trying hard not to turn up in a smirk and Professor Black's mouth gaping. Sirius managed to make eye contact with Harry and mouthed, _'You?'_ Harry nodded causing Sirius to give him a thumbs up.

Fred and George somehow managed to sneak up on Harry just making Harry annoyed. "Really, this is just not my day!" Harry pouted.

"So Harry. We came down for breakfast to find our dear brother larger than normal. Did you have something to do with this?" Fred and George asked.

"Why do you think so ill of me?" Harry countered dramatically. "How could my kind heart possibly plan this alone?"

The twins laughed at his antics and said, "That's it. You four are on our team."

"Your team?" Neville inquired nervously.

"Our pranking team!" Fred laughed.

"See you around Harry." George said.

"See ya." Harry replied, his attention once again focused on his breakfast.

The morning called for a boring class of Charms. Honestly, theory again! However, the afternoon had planned an exciting Transfiguration lesson for them all.

There was a tabby cat sitting on Professor McGonagall's desk when Harry and Hermione entered the class ten minutes before class started. They took a seat together and Harry cupped is hand to his mouth. He whispered in Hermione's ear, "That's Professor McGonagall."

Hermione looked shocked and whispered back furiously, "You mean she's an Animagus!" Harry looked at her dead in the eye and nodded.

They sat at their desk staring at the cat until the bell rang. Neville had come to join them, and Harry informed him of Professor McGonagall's furry self. However, when the bell rang Professor McGonagall did not turn back to human form. Then, answering Harry's unasked question, his brother and that red-headed Weasel ran into class. Weasley looked relieved and said, "Good thing the Professor wasn't here. Could you imagine the look on ol' McGonagall's face if we were late?" That was when their Professor jumped off her desk and transformed back into her human self. Ron and Benjamin's jaws fell open and reached the floor. Ron recovered first and exclaimed, "That was bloody brilliant!"

"Thank you for the assessment . Now why were you two late?" McGonagall asked with a stern glint in her eye.

"We got lost." Benjamin told her simply.

"Maybe I should turn you or Mr. Weasley into a pocket watch. Then maybe one of you may be on time! Or maybe a map. I trust you don't need one to find your seats."

Potter and Weasley quickly hurried to their seats and Harry had to cover his mouth to hide his snicker. Once everyone was seated the class commenced. "Today we will be trying to transfigure a match into a needle. There is no wand movement, however the spell is _par acus_." She placed a match on everyone's desk and commanded, "Now get to work."

Harry took out his journal while Hermione studied the notes on the board. Harry took his time to draw a shiny silver needle with a red lion engraved in it. He waited for Hermione to accomplish the task before he even tried. When McGonagall was finished praising Hermione, he took out his wand and casted, "Par acus." His wooden match immediately turned into the exact needle he had drawn. McGonagall had to remove her glasses and clean them before she believed what she saw. A first year had transfigured a match into a perfect needle and, even more, he transfigured an engraving into it. "Ten points to Gryffindor, Mr. Carter. And five points to Gryffindor, Ms. Granger." She had even given them one of her rare smiles. Benjamin just scowled because his match wouldn't turn into the needle he wanted. By the end of class Harry, Hermione, and Benjamin were the only ones that had successfully transfigured their matches, although Neville did manage to turn his match silver.

"For those of you who did not successfully transfigure your match, continue practicing. I will see how you progressed next class. You are dismissed."


	7. A Very Different Halloween

**AN: So here's the new chapter. And this is specifically to Guest, but just so everyone knows, I have read the books. When I say that I've read them I mean I have read them. All of them at least 3 times, and that includes the 3 books in the Hogwarts Library (Quidditch Through the Ages, Fantastical Beasts and Where to Find Them, and Tales of Beedle the Bard). Also, I forgot to mention that Luna is going to be one year older than in canon. One more thing, the Halloween plot is kinda backwards, like troll than third floor corridor. You know what to do. Read and Review.**

**Disclaimer: No mine Potter Harry.**

The rest of September did not consist of anything interesting. There were classes, Potions essays, Quidditch practices, and reading with Hermione, Neville, and Luna. The quartet, newly named the Ghosts of the Founder's Four, spent their days in classes and their nights exploring the castle under the invisibility cloak, in the library, or annoying the Almost Silver Trio – Potter, Malfoy, and Weasley. The Professors believed that each of the four represented the qualities of one of the Founder's Four. They had soon figured out who was which one. It took a long time to convince Neville that he was in fact the Chosen One of Gryffindor and not Hufflepuff, for that was Hermione. Many believed that Hermione was Ravenclaw, but as the only Ravenclaw in the group, Luna was the obvious choice. That left Harry for the Snakes, and the boy wasn't surprised. He was a Parselmouth and the Sorting Hat did want to place him in Slytherin.

October came faster than expected, and the Great Hall was filled with bats, pumpkins, and cloudy skies. The Ghosts of the Founder's Four along with the Weasley Twins had planned something special for that month. October 30th, the night before Halloween, their plan was set into action. They had cast a spell on the Headmaster's robes, which Dumbledore probably would pass over, to make them switch to Prosser Snape's robes for the day. The Great Hall was in shock when Albus Dumbledore entered the Hall with pitch black robes billowing behind him. However, that was nothing compared to the jaw-dropping reaction that a certain Potions Master received. The once dark and dreary Severus Snape had electric pink hair thanks to the knowledge of a certain Muggleborn. Everyone smirked at the sight of Professor Snape, and when Dumbledore tried to get his robes under control the entire Hall burst out in laughter. Harry, Hermione, Neville, and the Wealsey twins high fived under the table. Harry knew that Dumbledore was trying to use Legimens on him, but Harry was smart enough to avoid eye contact.

The next day, Harry received a parcel at breakfast. It was poorly wrapped parcel that looked suspiciously like a broomstick. The first owl dropped a letter in his lap, while the other two dropped the parcel on his plate, causing the bacon to fly off of it. Harry ripped open the letter which read

_DO NOT OPEN THE PARCEL AT THE TABLE. It contains your new Nimbus Two Thousand, but I don't want everybody knowing you've got a broomstick or they'll all want one. Quidditch practice starts after Halloween. Professor M. McGonagall_

Everything became exciting one Halloween in Charms class. Professor Flitwick was showing the class how to cast the Levitation Charm, _Wingardium Leviosa_. "Now can anyone tell me how this spell can be helpful when learning others?" Flitwick asked.

Neville raised his hand timidly, and Flitwick gestured for him to speak. "It's not the spell itself, but the wrist movement, Swish and Flick. The movement is used for most spell, so once you perfect it in Wingardium Leviosa, it will be easier to cast other spells."

"That is correct Mr. Longbottom. Now everyone partner up and practice the incantation." Flitwick ordered.

Neville immediately paired up with Harry, so that meant Hermione was stuck with Weasley. After a while, Ron started flicking his wand all over the place and Hermione said, "Stop! Stop! Stop! You're going to poke someone's eye out. Plus, you're saying it wrong! Its levi-O-sa, not levios-A. Stress the O not the A."

Flames of anger flickered in Ron's eyes. "You do it then if you're so clever!" He challenged her.

Hermione grinned, pulled out her wand, and commanded, "Wingardium Leviosa." With the swish and flick of her wand, Hermione's feather gently floated into the air.

"Look here everyone! Ms. Granger's done it!" Flitwick proclaimed giddily, clapping his hands as he spoke. He might have been happy, but Ron was in a terrible mood the rest of the class.

As they were leaving Charms, Neville, Harry, and Hermione were talking about their homework. However, as they were walking past Ron and Benjamin they overheard Ron say, "Did you hear her? Its levi-O-sa not levios-A. Honestly, she's a nightmare. It's no wonder that she doesn't have any friends."

Hermione's cheeks flushed a deep red colour when she heard what the Weasel said about her. She bit her lip and ran past the two twats, brushing Ron's shoulder as she passed by. The tears streaming from her eyes were visible, and Ron had the humility to look bashful. Neville stomped up to them and lived up to the name of Gryffindor. "She does have friends. She has me, she has Luna, and she has Harry. She will end up having more friends than you if you keep having that crap attitude." Neville practically shouted, his hands clenching into fists as he talked.

Harry walked with Neville and told him, "Nice going Nev." Neville glowed and beamed with pride. "Now let's go find 'Mione."

They searched for the rest of the day, but to no avail. They couldn't find Hermione anywhere. At dinner they heard Pavarti tell Lavender that Hermione had been in the girl's loo all day crying. Harry and Neville decided that they would find her after dinner. However, their plans were soon interrupted when Professor Quirrell burst into the Great Hall screaming, "Troll! In the dungeon! Troll in the dungeon! Thought you ought to know!" Once he finished speaking he fell _forward_ in a dead faint. Harry narrowed his eyes with suspicion. A month of first-aid and health classes helped him to know that nobody fell forward when they fainted. Neither a muggle nor a wizard.

Everyone broke out in panicked conversation. That was until Dumbledore stood up and yelled, "Silence!"

The noise stopped. However, everyone still looked extremely nervous. "Prefects," Dumbledore commanded, "lead your houses back to their Common Rooms. Teachers, follow me."

All of the students started to stand up until Harry cut in, "The Slytherin Common Room is in the dungeon."

Snape smirked at the Headmaster, while the Headmaster looked bashful. "Slytherin house, stay here in the Great Hall. Everyone else head back to your Common Room."

The Gryffindors followed Percy Weasley up to their Common Room. "Neville, Hermione's still in the girl's loo. We need to help her." Harry whispered to Neville. "We can't let Percy see us."

Neville looked incredibly nervous, but he still nodded. The two first years ran to the second floor girl's bathroom. They could instantly smell the horrific troll stench when the entered the bathroom. Hermione was hiding in one corner of the washroom screaming, as the troll blindly swung around his club. The club broke the stalls and ruined the sink piping. Water splashed all over the tile floor, soaking Hermione's robes. What the boys didn't expect was to see Weasley throwing bits of wood at it and Potter aiming stunning spells at it. However, anyone who picked up a book knows that trolls can't be stunned, and if they were able to be stunned only a powerful wizard could stun one with magic. Unfortunately for Weasley, the boy had very bad aim. A piece of wood that he threw had hit Benjamin in the head, and knocked him out cold. Neville ran in front of Weasley, holding him back, while Harry ran up to the troll. His mind floated back to something he read when he was six. _Ice Elemental_. His Avada-Kedavra green eyes scanned the water on the bathroom floor and he grinned. He took out his wand and cast, "Glacio!"

The water turned solid ice. The troll slipped and fell down on his back. Hermione yelled to the red-head, "The club. Swish and flick."

Ron's eyes widened with realization and pulled out his wand. He swished his wand and cried, "Wingardium Leviosa!" The wooden club lifted into the air and Ron beamed. Although, once he smiled his concentration wavered and club fell and hit the troll right on the head with a sickening crack. There was a sudden, loud crash and the bathroom door burst open.

"What in the name of the devil is going on in here?!" Snape exclaimed, his robes billowing behind him. He peered over at the troll. Professor Quirrell was shaking behind him, whimpering at the sight.

Professor McGonagall stared furiously at the boys. They had never seen her look so angry. Her lips were pursed, and her brow furrowing. "What on earth were you thinking?" She proclaimed with a cold fury in her voice. "You're lucky that you weren't killed! What happened to Benjamin?"

Harry opened his mouth when Weasley intervened, "I accidently knocked him out with a piece of wood when I was throwing them at the troll." The other three looked at the red-head in shock. He hadn't lied about them.

"Actually they came to rescue me, Professor." Hermione said. "I went after the troll, having read all about them. If these four hadn't come I would be dead."

"Why Miss. Granger. I expected better from you!" Professor McGonagall frowned. "Five points from…"

"Wait Professor." Harry almost screamed. "That's not what happened."

Hermione stared bashfully at the floor. "Okay. Mister Potter will you please explain what happened."

Harry started to explain the situation, Neville jumping in where Harry forgot something. After telling the whole story McGonagall nodded. "Ten points from Gryffindor Mr. Weasley, and an apology to Ms. Granger. Severus, take Potter to the hospital wing. The rest of you, get to your dormitory, and ten points to each Mr. Potter and Mr. Longbottom, for sheer dumb luck." She turned around and stalked off with Professor Quirrell trailing behind her, and Professor Snape bringing up the rear carrying Benjamin bridal style in his arms.

Breaking the silence, Neville said, "Well, that could have gone worse. We better go back to the Common Room."

"Or we could do something exciting." Harry grinned slyly.

"Like what?" Weasley asked smiling.

'Weasley's not too bad.' Harry thought to himself. "Why don't we explore the third floor corridor?"

"Harry no way! You heard Dumbledore at the welcoming feast. The third floor corridor is out of bounds." Hermione exclaimed.

"Well that's the adventure!" Harry said excitedly. "Come on! Let's go!" He grabbed Hermione's and Neville's hand as he ran out the bathroom door, Weasley running behind him.

They ran up the magic staircases up to the third floor corridor, the torches lighting with flames when they ran past. There was a wooden door calling their names, beckoning them to come closer. They approached the door with caution. That was until Mrs. Norris meowed from around the corner. Everyone's heads whipped around to stare at the grey tabby cat.

"Oh shit." Harry whispered. "Everyone. Back away from the devil spawn."

Ron snorted, but when Hermione furiously whispered, "Harry, this is not a time to make a joke."

They backed away from the cat and ended up with their backs against the door. Then they heard a raspy voice, "Where are they my sweet?"

"It's Filch! In the door." Ron exclaimed. Neville tried to open the door but he whimpered, "It's locked."

"Oh move over!" Hermione pushed him. She pulled out her wand and cast an, "Alohomora."

"Alohomora?" Ron asked.

"Standard Book of Spells, Chapter 7." Hermione told him. "Now get in the room."

The four students crowed through the door and exerted a sigh of relief. Until they looked up and saw a three headed Cerberus staring down at them. Its warm breath, that surprising smelled like mint, was tickling their faces. The four brave Gryffindor student all screamed in panic. They quickly fumbled for the doorknob and exited the room. The four started running and didn't stop until they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady on the seventh floor. "Pig snout! Pig snout!" They screamed frantically.

The portrait swung open and they all ran inside. "What do they think they're doing, keeping that thing locked up in a school?" Ron immediately said.

Hermione had got both her breath and her bad temper back again. "Didn't you see what it was standing on?"

"I w-wasn't lo-looking at h-h-his feet, I w-was b-b-busy with it h-heads." Neville stuttered.

"It was standing on a trapdoor. It's obviously guarding something." Hermione glared at them. "I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We all could have been killed – or worse, expelled. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to bed. Good night."

"You'd think we dragged her along, wouldn't you?" Weasley said. Neville nodded in agreement.

"Ron, Neville," Harry started, "we did drag her along."

**AN: So Ron is almost friends, but not really. We'll see how the story progresses.**


End file.
